FORA Capital LLC Invests $12.53 Million in NRG Energy, Inc. $NRG

FORA Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 78,045 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $12,532,000. NRG Energy comprises approximately 1.4% of FORA Capital LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest holding.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of NRG Energy by 0.7% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,411,045 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $865,437,000 after purchasing an additional 39,253 shares in the last quarter. Amundi grew its holdings in NRG Energy by 772.5% in the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 4,378,022 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $406,342,000 after buying an additional 3,876,235 shares in the last quarter. Appaloosa LP increased its stake in shares of NRG Energy by 12.9% in the 1st quarter. Appaloosa LP now owns 2,050,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $195,693,000 after acquiring an additional 235,000 shares during the last quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec raised its holdings in shares of NRG Energy by 33.6% during the 1st quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 1,481,120 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $141,388,000 after acquiring an additional 372,618 shares during the period. Finally, Holocene Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of NRG Energy by 113.3% during the 2nd quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 1,444,271 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $231,921,000 after acquiring an additional 767,014 shares during the last quarter. 97.72% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on NRG shares. Zacks Research downgraded shares of NRG Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 13th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of NRG Energy to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 28th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “underperform” rating on shares of NRG Energy in a research note on Thursday, November 20th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $198.00 price target on shares of NRG Energy in a research note on Monday, October 20th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of NRG Energy in a research report on Monday, December 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $199.21.

NRG Energy Trading Down 5.4%

NRG opened at $161.51 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.45. The firm has a market cap of $30.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.14 and a beta of 1.26. NRG Energy, Inc. has a 52 week low of $79.57 and a 52 week high of $180.54. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $167.23 and a 200-day simple moving average of $159.79.

NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $2.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.93 by $0.85. The firm had revenue of $7.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.53 billion. NRG Energy had a return on equity of 103.57% and a net margin of 4.84%.NRG Energy’s revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.90 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that NRG Energy, Inc. will post 6.36 earnings per share for the current year.

NRG Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 17th. Investors of record on Monday, November 3rd were issued a $0.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 3rd. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. NRG Energy’s payout ratio is 26.31%.

NRG Energy announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Thursday, November 6th that authorizes the company to buyback $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the utilities provider to reacquire up to 9.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other NRG Energy news, VP Virginia Kinney sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.82, for a total transaction of $3,276,400.00. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 43,191 shares in the company, valued at $7,075,549.62. This represents a 31.65% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.86% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

NRG Energy Company Profile

NRG Energy, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as an energy and home services company in the United States and Canada. It operates through Texas; East; West/Services/Other; Vivint Smart Home; and Corporate Activities segments. The company produces and sells electricity generated using coal, oil, solar, and battery storage; natural gas; and a cloud-based home platform, including hardware, software, sales, installation, customer service, technical support, and professional monitoring solutions.